Apparatus for making wire-cutting guides



Oct. 18, 1949. T. F. KENNEY- ETAL 2,485,495

APPARATUS Fon MAKING- WIR-E CUTTING GUIDES A eZZavarzce Oct. 18, 1949` T. F. KENNEY ET AL 2,485,495

APPARATUS FOR MAKING WIRE CUTTING GUIDES Filed June 24, 1946 45 Sheets$heet 2 @ef/avance Pateted oct. 1e,y 1949 APPARATUS FOR MAKING WIRE-CUTTING GUIDES Thomas F. Kenney and Arthur Bellavance, Lowell, Mass., assignors to Boott Mills, Lowell,

Mass.

Application June 24, 1946, serial No. 679,030

(o1. 15s-4s) 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in setting-in guide wires employed in the fustian cutting of corded velvets such as corduroys and other ribbed textile fabrics.

It is well known to those skilled in the art that after the weaving operation has been performed to produce such pile fabrics, the latter presents the appearance of, a flat surface having depth. This depth is imparted by ribs or cords which extend lengthwise of the fabric in the direction of the warp threads. The records are developed as a cut waft pile by severing with a fustian knife, which, after cutting, form the ribs of the pile which stand erect on a foundation texture of a twill or similar weave. These ribs are generally of a uniform width.

One of the objects of this invention is to devise a simple, practical and inexpensive means for producing the setting-in wire guides which guide the fustian knife in its cutting function during the so-called setting-in operation of finishing the corduroy fabric, which operation is ancillary to the main weaving operation which produces the velvet piece.

In fustian cutting of pile fabrics such as corduroy and the like, the ground or binding portions and the pile portions are interlaced together by binding threads to prevent picks of pile from falling away from the ground cloth when the pile has been cut. The pile wefts are oated over the warp threads in 4order to form a number of tunnels or races of varying degrees of neness, running longitudinally down the piece of goods. These tunnels or races are loops formed by weft picks by a number of warp threads over which these weft picks float at varying intervals. These races are detected by the fustian cutter as it is moved in and with the wire setting-in guides. The present invention of setting-in guide is adapted to enter one of the races of the corduroy garment, being a rotary cylindrical cutter which.

is inserted between the folded back arms of the wire guide. The guide completely fills the tunnels or races of the corduroy fabric down which the cutting knife will travel to open the race by a severing operation. A leading object of this invention is to facilitate formation of these wire guides.

A further object thereof is to provide means for producing rapidly setting-in guides of uniform serviceability and interchangeable value to the trade. Y

With the above and other objects in view my invention consists in arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the speciiication and then more particularly set forth in the appended claims. l

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar parts throughout the respective views,

Figure l is a top plane View, partly in section, of the means employed to fold the wire into an angular disposition of two arms,

Figure 2 is a cross section taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a side View of Figure 1,

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the first step in setting the parts prior to folding the wire,

Figure 5 shows the ultimate step, diagrammatically, for effecting the folding of the wire upon itself,

Figure 6 is a plan View, partly in section, of the device for mashing the folded angular arms of the wire,`

Figure 7 is an end elevation of the device shown in Figure 6,

Figure 8 is a side elevation of the device shown in Figure '7,

Figure 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the first step in setting the parts prior to mashing the bent back portions of the wire, and

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic view showing the ultimate operation of mashing the bent back arms of the wire.

Referring to the drawings, which are merely illustrative of my invention the various parts thereof are disclosed. Upon a base member A is mounted, at one end, a compressed air cylinder Illa, which cylinder has oppositely arranged base flanges secured by fasteners I2 down upon the base member. The interior of this cylinder is denoted at I I. By means of the nut I3 a compressed airline is operatively connected into the end wall of the cylinder. This line carries a globe valve casing I4, the Valve inside of which controls admission lof fluid into the cylinder when the lever handle I B is operated. The pipe I5 of this line is also shown by way of illustration.

Working slidably, under influence of the compressed air, in the -cylinder is a piston head I'I attached to a rubber gasket I8 operatively. The piston has a plunger I9 attached thereto which projects slidably outside of the cylinder, and a spring 20 is coiled around the plunger, inside of the cylinder, with one end bearing against the piston and the other bearing against the opposite end of the cylinder.

At its outer end the plunger I9 extends with a 'I'Qllilded eye terminal 33 between a pair of upstanding lugs 36, 31 having base anges 34, 35 secured operatively upon a slide member 21. A pin 38 is passed through lugs 36, 31 into the eye 33 of the plunger, being held upon the lugs by aid of the nuts 39 threaded upon the ends of this pin 36. In this manner the slide member 21 is adapted to slide upon an under block 22. The block 22 is secured tothebase member by aid of a series of screw bolts, the screw threaded ends 23 of which screw into the bottom of the block 22, while the heads 24 of these bolts are Aheld -in counterseats 25 formed in the bottom of the base member A.

The block 22 is formed centrally with an upwardly extending dovetail shaped tenon 26 with which slidably engages in dovetail relation the dovetail shaped track or groove formed nby the oppositely arranged cheeks 28, 29r upon the bottom of the slide member 21.

The slide member 21, at its outer end has a pair of pins 39a secured therein. A pair of oppositely arranged L-shaped levers havethe'ir long arms or stems 40, 4| spaced apart and pivoted upon the pins 39a. The offset :arms 42, 43 of these levers proj ect in counter directions and have their inner edges 44 spaced away from the adjacent edge of the lslide member 21. Reference being made to Figure '3 as well as Figure l, it will be seen that two sets of rollers are mounted upon the levers, each lever supporting in journaled relation one set of rollers, ywhich are denoted, in each case, 41,48. The rollers of each set on each lever are journaled upon `a common pin 45 and 46 respectively and t into recesses 43a formed in the inner corner Aof the front' end of each separate lever. The rollers l41, 4B `of each set, for each lever, are mounted one upon the other around pin Vr46, so that their front portions project in advance of the front ends of the levers. For this purpose the corners of the levers are rounded as at 45a.

A rod 29 passes through both of the arms 42, 43 of the levers so as to have terminals which project from opposite sides of them. Nuts 3| screw home upon the outer ends of the terminals of this rod against each of which bears one vend of 'a coiled spring 32 wound around the terminal of the rod, with its opposite end bearing against one of the adjacent sides of the levers. Normally these springs expansively hold the sets of rollers in contact and closed one set against the other as shown in Figure 1.

In front of the pusher levers just described, is disposed a straight length of stout steel wire Suitable guide members are provided as indicated at Figures 1 and 3. The ends of the wire 5| are slidably supported against the angular sides 52 of these guide members in a displacable manner so as to position the axis of the wire 5| at right angles with respect to the axis of the slide member '21. The right angular portions 55 of the sides 52 hold the ends of the wire in the guide members but permit them to come .out when reacted upon in the manner hereinafter explained.

In front of the wire 5| isa block 6| secured by aid of fasteners 59 upon the opposite end of the base member A upon an under plate 62. This block carries longitudinally, along a medial line, a wedge shaped member having vertical oppositely arranged and inclining sides 51, 58. This member 56 has a sharp edge at its forward end 60 projecting in advance of the front end of the block 6| preferably. This sharp edge is disposed directly in longitudinal alignment with the con- 561, 68 respectively. They are spaced apart narrowly -to provide va fguide 0r slit 69. The bases Aof these cheeks rest securedly upon the stand 63.

An L-shaped former is seated securedly with the under edge of its Alon-g arm upon the stand and with its `short larmprojecting at right angles from the latter surface. Flanking the cheeks 65, 66 are 'a pair of upright posts 83 operatively secured with their lower ends upon the base member. Sleeves 8'5 embrace the full length of these posts 83. At the upper ends of the sleeves is seated the opposite ends of a cross beam 82, through which the posts 83 project. Nuts A84 screw home upon the `ends of the posts to clamp the beam 82 tight down upon the .sleeves 85; This provides a vertical guide member which is rigidly secured upon the stand.

A vertical Yplunger 16 is slidably guided in a thimble il@ mounted Aaround the plunger and operatively seated with its flange 8| on top of 'the beam `82. The uppermost end of the plunger 'carries a handle cap 11 which is secured upon the plunger by aid of the set screw 18 tapped into the cap against the plunger. A coiled spring 19 is wound around the plunger having one end ybearing against the cap 11 and the other 'end bearing against the thimble 8|. The spring 19 normally holds the plunger in properly spaced relation with respect to the former die. The lower `end of the plunger 'is slit to receive in inserted relation the inner end of a presser blade 13, a pin 15 passing through this blade and plunger to hold the blade supported dependingly thereupon looselyin a plumb line.

The presser blade, as shown in Figure 8, normally, that is `when the plunger 19 is in raised position, slidably abuts the inner face of the short larm lil of the former die, and also slightly slidably extends down between the Acheeks 65, 66 in the slit 69 thereof. The lower end of the blade 13, however, is raised above the upper edge 5|b of `the long arm 1| of the former, as shown in Figure 8.

The use and operation of my invention will now be explained. The method and means function as follows. In accordance with the rst operation the length of steel wire 5| is positioned with its ends in the guide members 55, 52 as seen in Figure 3 so they rest upon the seat 53 of the guide members. The wire is thus positioned in a plane at right angles to the block 6| upon which is mounted the wedge shaped member 56. The side walls 55 of the guide members allow the wire to slide bodily a slight distance over towards the sharp edge 6|) of the wedge shaped member. Compressed air is introduced into the cylinder Illa by opening the valve in casing |4, operating handle 'I6 for this end. The compressed air urges the piston |1 towards the opposite end of the cylinder in which it is shown in Figure 1. As the piston moves forwardly, so does its plunger lll, which thus actuates the slide `21 upon the dovetailed tenon 26 of block 22.

The slide member 21 is thus given a forward slidable thrust by the piston plunger I9. In moving forwardly the slide imparts forward movement to the pusher device consisting of the levers arms 40, 4l and lever'offset portions 42 and 43 necessarily. The levers advance against vthe wire. The projecting ends of the sets of 'rollers 41, 48 on the two oppositely arranged levers, strike and impact the central portion of wire 5I first. This bodily shifts the wire 5l in its guides. The forcible thrust imparted by slide member 21 to the rollers results in the rollers presenting the meeting slit 481) -which separates their peripheries against the wire 5| so the wire lays in this slit. The force of the thrust upon the rollers pushes the center of the wire against the sharp edge 60 of the wedge shaped block 56 with some degree of force. v

In pushing the wire, the sets of rollers upon both levers indent the central point midway the length of the wire 5l. The force is sufficient and continues long enough to bend the wire upon the sharp edge 60 of the wedge carrying block 6I so as to fold its opposite portions against the opposing inclining vertical sides of this body. Immediately that the wire has been crimped in this fashion, a bight portion 5Ic is formed thereupon asA shown in Figure 5. This is accomplished by the opposite sets of rollers 41, 48 beginning to press the folded back portions 5 la, 5 Ib of the bent wire together against the oppositely inclining sides 51, 58 of the wedge block 56, as they roll against the bent back arms of this wire, and as they are being tightly pressed against these sides of the wedge block under influence of the compressed coiled springs 32 wound upon the ter'- minals of the rod '29 carried by both roller supporting levers. In the act of running over the bent back arms 5in., 5|IJi of the folded wire, against the rearwardly diverging sides of the block 56, the rollers are necessarily separated by the sharp thin edge 60 of this block, and as they separate the rollers also force back the two levers which then crowd the ends of the two springs 32 compressedly. The spring tension of these springs increases as the rollers engage the gradually widening cross sections of the wedge block, and as this process of the pressing rollers continues the arms 5m and SIb of the wire are being pressed together into ultimate contact with the inclining sides of the block 56. By the time the rollers squeeze the upset opposite portions 5Ia, 5|b of the wire against the wedge so the point of the latter at 60 can enter the wire between the rollers, the ends of the wire have been displaced entirely from their guide members.

Each of the folded steel wires `are then taken and mashed in the former die shown in Figures 6 to l0 inclusive. The folded wire is easily seated in the slit 69 between cheeks 65, 66 so that one arm 5 lb will lie straight in contact with and upon the upper edge of the long arm 1I of the former, while its other and upraised angular arm 5Ia will be disposed vertically above the lower seated arm 5|a, held between and by cheeks 65, 66 in this position securely. The bight portion 5Ic of the wire engages in the crotch formed by the juncture of the long and short arms of the former but the lower end of the plunger presser blade 13 is just located above this angular arm Ela of the wire. With the parts all thus arranged, the operator forces the cap 11 of the plunger downwardly, imparting to it a sharp thrust.

As the plunger descends, the cap compresses coiled spring 19 wound around this plunger. This moves the presser blade 13 downwardly with a sharp stroke. The downwardly moving presser blade bears down hard upon the inner end of ,the upraised angular arm 5|a of the wire seated between cheeks 65, 66 upon the edge of long arm 1|, and mashes the two arms 5|a and 5|b of the wire together until they are closed one upon the other. The finished product is then shown in Figure 10 with two arms Sla, 5|b of the same determinate length.

The foregoing method of producing the settingin guide is rapid and efficient to turn out guides of uniform quality. As is well known in the art between the arms of each guide sets a circular knife of a machine in which the successive tunnels or races of corduroy fabric are properly cut lengthwise as the fabric is stretched operatively in the machine. The circular knives, operating in the guides, cut right through the races from end to end of the material, as the cloth travels in the direction of the knives. The guide enters the race and follows a course lengthwise thereof. In this way the knives sever the piles of the fabric. The slotted guides move alternately in they machine (not shown) and work in a group of 5, 6, or 7 at one time, one leading and the other following in order to lessen the strain ,upon the cloth.

It is understood that we do not intend to cohne ourselves to the exact details of construction save as pointed out in the appended claims.

What we desire to claim is:

1. A forming device as described comprising a base plate, a wedge block thereon having opposite inclining vertical sides and a sharp forward edge, a pair of confronting guide members disposed outwardly and forwardly of said edge for yslidably supporting a length of wire at righi',v

angles 4to the axis of said block, a pusher slidable on said base plate for movement along the longitudinal axis of said block, a pair of adjacent levers pivotally carried by said pusher and extending towards said block, roller means rotatably carried by each of said levers and disposed at the inner edge of the free end thereof, said roller means including a pair of rollers disposed one above the other for rotation about a vertical axis, the confronting edge of each of said rollers being formed with a bevel `adapted to receive the length of wire, spring means engaging said pair of levers for urging said roller means into contact with each other, and motive means operatively connected to said pusher for moving the latter towards said block whereby when said pusher is moved towards said block said roller means will engage the length of wire substantially at the mid-point thereof for initially impinging the wire on said sharp forward edge and further motion of said pusher will cause said rollers to run under pressure against said opposite inclining block sides to fold adjacent portions of the wire thereagainst, and whereby said bevelled edges on said rollers will prevent vertical movement of the wirey base plate, a wedge block thereon having opposite thereof, spring means including a rod loosely en- 1'-7 yga'gin'g through said pair of levers and having the opposite end portions thereof extending outwardly relative to said levers, 'seating means adjustably secured to each end of said rod, a spring disposed about each of said end portions and having the opposite ends thereof bearing against said seating means and the associated lever and adapted to adjust'ably urge said roller lmeans into 'contact with each other, and motive means oper- 'atively connected to said pusher for moving the latter towards said block whereby, when said pusher is moved towards said block, said roller means will engage the length of wire substantially at the mid-point thereof for initially impin'gin'g the wire on said vsharp forward edge and further motion of said pusher will cause said roller means to run under predetermined presrsure against said opposite inclining sides of said block to fold adjacent portions of the wire thereagainst.

THOMAS F. KENNEY. ARTHUR BELLAVANCE.

REFERENCES `CI'IEI') The following references are of record in the le of this patent: 

